The Journey To Peanut Lake

Quzqo got his feet trimmed back on the 15th, and I suspect they were trimmed too short, because he's been ouchy-footed on gravel ever since. So in order not to discomfit Himself, our latest trail ride was as much woodsy trails as possible. We had a bit of gravel road to negotiate, but that's what soft, sandy shoulders are for!

Last weekend we were on a woodsy trail, and paused a moment so Quz could scarf down some green tasty maple leaves...suddenly he JUMPED backwards and spun 180 degrees and started to bolt back down the trail! I remember hanging off his side and thinking "I MUST NOT FALL OFF!!!" and simultaneously regained my upright position and gathered up the yards and yards of slack reins and was able to stop his headlong plunge into the forest. After a minute or so of discussion that involved another spin, a little half-rear, and much backing, I got him back to the scene of terror, his heart was pounding so hard I could feel it through the leather of the saddle fenders... warily, warily he tip-toed to the side of the path as much as he could and giving the ground the hairy eyeball, crept past the horror...

I never saw what that horror was...there was "nothing" there...if it was still there, it was in an alternate dimension that only horses can see. My theory (judging from the violence of his spook) was that there was a snake on the trail that suddenly slithered off. That'd scare ME too. But it traumatized Quzqo to his core, and the entire balance of the ride featured a psychotic obsession with...STICKS! Any stick laying on the ground was at the least given the hairy eyeball, at worst...a four-legged spook-stop and snort.

But that was last week. This week...horses are related to elephants I think, because yes, sticks were still the Spook du Jour. We were walking down a hill on a dirt road, and since Quzqo's toes were still ouchy, he was keeping to the shoulder where the sand was soft. He got so close to the grassy bank that he stepped over a branch laying slightly in his path, and apparently hooked it with a foot, that dragged the branch underneath him, and (I imagine, because I couldn't see and wasn't paying that much attention) hit his hind legs.

Well, that fat little Arabian shot up in the air and BUCKED a couple of crow-hops down the road, dislodging the branch! I laughed and was glad I had my trail saddle and not the English one I used to use in my younger, stupider days (yeah, 40 is "young"). What a maroon, that horse!

We enjoyed a lovely woodsy ride, other than the stick issue, that soon transfered to a stump issue. I'd forgotten my bear bells, but luckily the biggest animal that we spooked was a squirrel.

It's sort of a boring time of year for trail rides. The Spring and Summer wildflowers are past, and the autumn foliage has yet to make an appearance. There's not a lot of birdsong, just the distant whine of chainsaws as people prepare their firewood supplies for winter. We've had so much rain this summer that the landscape is still a beautiful rich green...a pleasant change from summers past where things are dry and brown by this time. Also noteworthy was the absence of bugs...we missed the mid-summer weeks where the deer flies are the worst, I guess that's one benefit to being lazy.

Today's objective was to ride to Peanut Lake, a TINY little lake about 5 miles from the barn, right on the Michigan Shore-to-Shore trail. It's a gorgeous, uninhabited spot, with beautiful hardwoods and pines, and a nice scenic ride through the woods.

We went our usual route, passing the skeletal remains of the dead doe that terrorized us earlier this year. No beer cans on the roadside to collect for the dime deposit, no dirt bikers, no hunters, a very peaceful and pleasant ride...other than the sticks, of course.

We crossed the wonderful wooden bridge built by the Michigan Trail Riders Association back in 1997....Quz just can't seem to step up on that thing, he always has to LEAP. Usually we turn around and go back to the barn at that point, which is what the horse fully expected. Nope, not today, today we go on, we go up the hill and down the two-track at the top. HA! Let's just say we had a little discussion, with the horse having a different opinion than me, but as usual, I won and we trotted up the narrow tree-lined horse trail.

I love the two-track at the top, it's about a mile, maybe longer, with mysterious off-ramps into the woods, probably leading to the meth labs or pot plots or the orgy groves, I don't know, I've never bothered to investigate. But what's nice is the road is straight, level, with a minimum of spooky things, and one can really get their horse into a nice road-eating trot or even a canter and just enjoy the woods on both sides!

There's a paved main road to cross, and we've been working on his manners at these "intersections" as well as with the cart and harness. Let's just say we need more work... he started walking and swung his hindquarters into the road as the lone pick-up on the road came our way... of course he did!

Across the road the route degrades back into the narrow horse trail (keep your toes in or get them snapped off by a nearby tree!), it's beautiful in there (see photo above), all hardwoods and hilly and windy and full of sticks that must be avoided. Usually we see deer, but not this time.

Well, we got to the swamp at the bottom of a very long, steep hill (I used to have to dismount and lead old Tezlu down that thing...it's so nice to have an agile sure-footed relative youngster to ride!)...I was HOPING that the bog at the bottom would have dried up by now, but no, it was still four feet of hoof-sucking mud that I knew Quzqo would have nothing to do with. I suppose if we were other riders, and their horses went over it, he would jump it, but without that, my ride was at an end. No Peanut Lake.

See, now if we'd had a normal dry August, that bog would be just soft dirt, and we could have crossed it without a problem!

The trip wasn't a total loss, I finally got to photograph this awesome tree growing out of a cedar stump...I saw this stump back in 2006 but for many obvious reasons, never got back to photograph it until now. I just think it's cool, in a parasitic Alien face-hugger sort of way.

An uneventful ride back to the barn, the day was so nice, that the horse wasn't even hurrying like normal. I'll take uneventful any day of the week!

My New Old Saddle!

Went to an estate sale this weekend in a nearby town, the ad stated "old horse tack". You never know what you'll find so I went!

Well now, when they said "old", they meant OLD, as in Antique! I couldn't resist, even though it about emptied my checking account (but still, under $300), this old beauty definitely from the 1900's or earlier!!!

Of course there's no maker's marks on it, which means it might be from Sears & Roebuck, according to my minimal research. Its condition is amazing...just a few scuffies, NO rot, NO mold, just a bit of cracking on the fenders...I still can't believe it!












Look at the amazing detail on this thing though...I love the leather-wrapped rings for the cinch...
















And the neat detailing on the back (yes, even the sheepskin underside is in very good condition!)














Obviously (to me) machine-embossed decoration, which really makes me think it's mass-produced for Sears Roebuck. But definitely old... lots of green oxidation on the rivets there.












Neat rawhide detailing on the pommel. Even the horn is in excellent shape with not one missing stitch! Now THAT is rare!!























Of course Quzqo had to model it! It fit him perfectly...I guess they had smaller horses back in the 19th Century. He looks rather pleased with himself for some reason.

















I took him for a short trail ride around the property...it was more than obvious that the stirrups were too long, and the seat is amazingly hard (as in rock hard!). But talk about secure, LOL...with that high cantle and pommel, I don't see how anyone could fall out!

The next day I took it back home, and shortened the stirrups "one notch", which in this case, is about 3". Unfortunately my legs wanted it shortened only 2", so the next ride I took was even more uncomfortable (but much more secure!). It took four days for my broken ankle to quit hurting...no thanks!

Now I suppose I could drill holes so I could make the stirrups the proper length, but I'm hesitant to do anything to it which would ruin its "mint condition"! Like, would I ever really ride with it? I hate the horn...I ride with a hornless trail saddle for a reason. I suppose maybe SOMEday Quzqo will do a proper Western Pleasure class and I'd need a proper Western saddle (after I spend $500/month to get him professionally trained)(and we'd still be beaten by all the stock breeds up here). Or maybe I will eventually put it on eBay and hopefully get the $1000.00 it's obviously worth. Or maybe I'll just keep it and enjoy looking at it, because it is darned neat looking. And then it can be sold at MY Estate Sale...and they'll wonder why it's in such good shape!

2008 Speckle Update

One of the joys of owning a greying horse; you get a new color horse every year!!

Remember 2004:

And 2005:

2006:

2007:



































And today in 2008: (pardon the poop stains)

At the rate he's speckling, I'll have a brown horse again in no time!

Pewp!

After the horse show, both Quzqo and I were sort of sick of each other, and I gave him a bit of a vacation. We had a couple of relaxing, pleasant (except for the bugs) trail rides, and found some new routes to take, and discovered that you can't lead a balky Arabian through ankle-deep sucking swamp mud without losing your $90 riding sneaker in the quagmire (I did get it back though), and spent some time working on his headset, which he IS getting, so he no longer goes along like a nearsighted anteater with his nose sticking way out front.

I took a week-long vacation to Kentucky, so he got 10 days' vacation, and by the time I got back, he was glad to see me, and I was glad to see him, and now we're back on track.

My niece and niece-in-law came out to the barn this past Sunday with a passel of chill'un to visit the horsie and do pony rides and cart rides. We drafted Colby the Quarter Horse to handle the riding, and I'd lunged Himself before they arrived so he'd be half-civilized for the cart-pulling.

The nieces arrived with three girls and two boys, between the ages of 4 and 10. We hiked out into the pasture to catch Colby.... Quzqo was already in his stall, inhaling his dinner I noticed... never mind it was noon... if it's there, it will be eaten!

As we negotiated the countless heaps of mummified meadow muffins, the youngest girl kept shouting out warnings! "PEWP!" "PEWP!" "Look out for the PEWP!" We were laughing, and from that point forward, any and all references to manure was "Pewp!" It's always great to have a new word to add to the vocabulary!

Colby was brought in, brushed and saddled, once he was busy giving rides, the oldest girl helped me harness Quzqo, and we got him hitched to the cart without problems. Happily it seems he remembered his lessons earlier this year in "standing quietly until asked to move forward". THAT is a big relief!

My plan was to load the cart up with a couple of kids, then take the horse about 1/2 mile down the main road, and back again...that'll be more interesting than walking around in the arena. I took two of the smallest girls first trip out, and even though Quz hadn't been in harness since the horse show, he did VERY well! I warned the kids about no shouting or screaming, to hang on, and keep their feet in the cart. They let out a few excited squeals during the ride, especially when we were trotting, but that didn't bother the horse one bit. He did perfect!

We returned to the barn, and loaded up the two boys (both 4 years old). The youngest girl admonished them "no screaming!" which caused my niece to raise her eyebrows a bit. Hey, it's good advice!

The boys were having a time of their life, and we got to trotting down the roadside at a good clip. One of the boys let out a loud "WhoaHO!", which Quzqo mistook for "WHOA" and he jammed on the brakes on his own, ha! I told them sternly "no yelling!"... last thing I need is for some kid to holler out "HAW!" and have the horse cut to the left (into the lane of traffic!)

It wasn't just fun-time-horsey-rides though, I was working on Quzqo and those "issues" we had about standing quietly, especially at intersections. We stopped at the intersection with the lilac bushes, and he did put up a little hissy, but a pretty feeble hissy, and eventually stood quietly until I told him to "walk".

On the way back to the barn (the boys were VERY concerned that we were actually leaving the barn...they kept track of how far away we were...and were very concerned when they couldn't see it any more...until we cleared the shrubbery that blocked their view) they began to jabber quietly to themselves (I'm sorry, I'm not fluent in pre-schooler)...the one boy began singing softly to himself, mostly to hear his voice go up and down with the jouncing of the cart at the trot, LOL. Cute.

Dumped that load of kids and loaded up the oldest girl and one of the younger ones sneaking a second ride. All went well until I saw something large and white approaching us from the other direction. I thought it was a truck pulling a utility trailer, nothing to worry about. Er...no, it's not just a truck, it's an 18-wheeler hauling a big flatbed full of cherry containers (cherry harvest is in full bore up here). Quzqo slowed...I could see him tensing up...gathering himself up.... raising his head up....the truck approached...the driver DID slow down (bless his heart), but the massive whiteness of it all was too much, and as the truck passed us, the horse bolted forward and to the right towards the (shallow, thank God) ditch! I got him stopped and up on the road again, the girls, of course, thought it was fun as could be. Couldn't fault the horse, I don't believe he's ever seen an 18-wheeler while in harness (and there's a good reason I've tried to avoid that). WHY there's commercial trucking going on on a late Sunday afternoon, well...

When we got back to the barn I gave the oldest girl some lessons on driving, and we went into the indoor arena and I let her have the reins! She was THRILLED to death, and after once around I could tell she was getting the hang of it, the horse was totally bored, so I got out of the cart and let her drive by herself. She loaded up with two other siblings and away they went, walking around in the indoor arena! TOO cute! Colby the QH was giving pony rides to the one 4 year old boy, who was riding all by himself like a big boy (Colby is THE best baby-sitter horse there is....and little Joey was wearing a helmet, for the record). Eventually Colby decided he'd prefer to follow Quzqo around the arena...it was the cutest thing ever, I wish I'd brought a camera!

Eventually all the kids and adults were horsed-out, I can sincerely say that was the most fun I've ever had with all the kids out there. The weather was dry and perfect, nobody got hurt, nobody cried, nobody wet their pants. It doesn't get much better than that!